TikTok, bowing to EU, withdraws ‘addictive’ Lite rewards program

It is the first major victory for the European Union’s landmark Digital Services Act. (REUTERS/File)
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Updated 05 August 2024
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TikTok, bowing to EU, withdraws ‘addictive’ Lite rewards program

  • Lite rewards users with vouchers and gift cards for watching and liking videos
  • TikTok is also under investigation for its efforts to address the app's negative impact on young people

BRUSSELS: TikTok will permanently remove a feature in a spinoff app in France and Spain that rewards users for watching and liking videos, bowing to pressure from European regulators, the EU and the Chinese-owned company said Monday.
TikTok Lite arrived in France and Spain — the only EU countries where it is available — in April this year. Users aged 18 and over can earn points to exchange for goods like vouchers or gift cards through the app’s rewards program.
“We have obtained the permanent withdrawal of TikTok Lite Rewards program, which could have had very addictive consequences,” the EU’s internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, said.
TikTok Lite is a smaller version of the popular TikTok app, taking up less memory in a smartphone and made to perform over slower Internet connections.
TikTok made commitments to remove the program from the 27-country bloc and not to launch “any other program which would circumvent the withdrawal,” the European Commission said in a statement.
It is the first major victory for the European Union’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping new law that requires digital firms operating in the bloc to effectively police online content to protect users from harm.
The commission kickstarted an investigation into the Lite app in April amid concerns over “addictive” effects, which forced TikTok to temporarily suspend the program.
The case is now closed after TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, made the binding commitments.
Any breach of the promises could lead to heavy fines under the DSA.
“We will carefully monitor TikTok’s compliance. Today’s decision also sends a clear message to the entire social media industry,” said commission executive vice president, Margrethe Vestager.
TikTok confirmed it had “now withdrawn” the rewards program.
“We always seek to engage constructively with the European Commission and other regulators. TikTok is pleased to have reached an amicable resolution,” a company spokesperson said.

TikTok is still under investigation after a separate probe launched in February amid concerns TikTok may not be doing enough to address negative impacts on young people.
TikTok is among 25 “very large” online platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, that must comply with the DSA’s stricter rules since August 2023.
The rules also expect digital retailers to act effectively to protect shoppers online.
The DSA gives the EU the power to hit companies with fines as high as six percent of their global annual revenues.
Repeat offenders can see their platforms blocked in the EU.
There are also ongoing investigations into X, formerly Twitter; Chinese online retailer AliExpress; and Meta over its Facebook and Instagram platforms.
TikTok also faces a litany of problems across the Atlantic.
It has filed a lawsuit to stop a US law that forces the app to be sold next year or face a US ban, claiming it violates First Amendment rights of free speech.
The United States upped the pressure on TikTok with a lawsuit last week, accusing the app of violating children’s privacy by collecting data about them without their parents’ permission when they use the platform.
TikTok said it disagreed with the allegations and that the company had safeguards to ensure age-appropriate experiences.

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Journalist killed in West Bank during Palestinian Authority raid

Updated 31 December 2024
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Journalist killed in West Bank during Palestinian Authority raid

  • Family of slain Jenin-based journalist Shatha Al-Sabbagh accuses PA of a ‘repressive campaign against its own people’
  • Al-Sabbagh is 10th journalist killed in Gaza and West Bank in past two weeks

LONDON: A 21-year-old journalist was killed in the West Bank on Sunday, with her family saying Palestinian Authority security forces were responsible for her death.

Shatha Al-Sabbagh died from gunshot wounds to the head near her home in the Jenin refugee camp, according to Jenin Governmental Hospital.

Her death brings the number of journalists killed in Gaza and the West Bank in the past two weeks to 10.

In a statement, Al-Sabbagh’s family said: “We hold the Palestinian Authority and its security services directly responsible for this crime. 

“This dangerous escalation shows that these agencies have become repressive tools practicing terrorism against their people, instead of protecting their dignity and confronting the Israeli occupation,” the family added.

The PA has been accused of a brutal crackdown on anti-Israel armed groups in Jenin and other areas since early December.

The authority said the campaign is part of a broader effort to “pursue criminals” and prevent areas like Jenin from becoming battlegrounds similar to Gaza.

At least six West Bank residents and five PA security officers were reportedly killed during clashes in these operations.

Palestinian security forces spokesman Anwar Rajab denied the accusations, attributing Al-Sabbagh’s death to “outlaws” in the camp.

He said that preliminary investigations and eyewitness testimonies indicated no PA security forces were present at the scene, a claim rejected by the family and residents of the Mahyoub neighborhood in Jenin.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has called for an independent investigation into Al-Sabbagh’s killing, urging the inclusion of a syndicate representative to ensure transparency and accountability.

Criticism of the PA’s campaign has also come from factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who accuse the authority of targeting resistance fighters in Jenin.

Some experts said that the PA is trying to impose its dominance over the region and demonstrate its ability to govern and manage internal security in postwar Gaza.

Local reports suggest the PA also stopped Qatar-based Al Jazeera’s operations in several West Bank cities, including Jenin and Tubas, earlier this month.

Al Jazeera condemned what it described as an “incitement campaign” by the PA’s ruling Fatah party against the network and its journalists.

Tensions throughout the West Bank remain high, exacerbated by Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 44,500 people, the majority of them women and children.

The year has been especially deadly for media workers in Palestine. At least 60 journalists were killed in 2024, most of them by Israeli forces.

On Friday, five media workers were killed in Gaza in an Israeli strike on their vehicle, which was clearly marked with the word “Press.”

Earlier in December, Israeli airstrikes killed four other journalists in separate incidents on Dec. 14 and 15.


Iran confirms arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala

Updated 31 December 2024
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Iran confirms arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala

DUBAI: Iran confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.
Sala, 29, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19, according to the Italian foreign ministry.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Saturday declined to say whether the case might be linked to the arrest of an Iranian in Italy this month at the request of the United Sttates.
The case of the Italian journalist being held in Iran is “complicated,” but Rome hopes to bring Sala home quickly, Tajani
said.
“Italian national Cecilia Sala traveled to Iran on Dec. 13 with a journalist visa and was detained on Dec. 19... for violating the laws of the Islamic Republic,” a statement by Iran’s Culture Ministry said, according to IRNA.
Chora Media said Sala had left Rome for Iran on Dec. 12 with a valid journalist visa and had conducted several interviews and produced three episodes of her “Stories” podcast. She had been due to fly back to Rome on Dec. 20.
Sala has been in contact by phone with her family and the Italian embassy in Tehran was notified of her detention, the statement said.
In recent years, Iran’s security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.
Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies taking prisoners to gain diplomatic leverage.


Italian journalist arrested in Iran: Rome

Updated 27 December 2024
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Italian journalist arrested in Iran: Rome

  • Cecilia Sala was detained on Dec. 19 by police in Tehran
  • Foreign ministry said it had been following case closely

ROME: Italy denounced Friday the “unacceptable” arrest of an Italian journalist in Iran, who her employer said was being held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.
Cecilia Sala was detained on Dec. 19 by police in Tehran, the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that Italy’s ambassador, Paola Amadei, had visited her earlier Friday.
Defense Minister Giudo Crosetto said on X that her arrest was “unacceptable,” adding that Italy was using “high-level political and diplomatic action” to try to secure her release.
Chora Media, an Italian podcast publisher for which Sala worked, said she had left Rome for Iran on Dec. 12 with a journalism visa, and was due to return on December 20.
But she went quiet on Dec. 19 and then did not board her flight. Shortly afterward she called her mother to say she had been arrested, it said.
“She was taken to Evin prison, where dissidents are held, and the reason for her arrest has not yet been formalized,” Chora said in a statement.
Sala also worked for Italian newspaper Il Foglio, which said she had been in Iran “to report on a country she knows and loves.”
“Journalism is not a crime, even in countries that repress all freedoms, including those of the press. Bring her home,” it said.
Chora said it had not publicized her case until now in the hope that she would swiftly be returned home. It called for her immediate release.
The foreign ministry said it had been following the case closely and was working with Iranian authorities to clarify Sala’s situation, including the conditions of her detention.
Sala, reported to be 29-years-old, had been able to make two phone calls to relatives, it said, without giving further details.


Lebanese journalist Abir Rahal killed by husband before his suicide

Updated 29 December 2024
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Lebanese journalist Abir Rahal killed by husband before his suicide

  • The couple were at a Shariah court in the town of Shheem in Mount Lebanon to complete their divorce proceedings
  • Masoud fled the scene after shooting his wife at a close range

BEIRUT: Lebanese journalist Abir Rahal was shot to death by her husband inside a courthouse before he committed suicide, reported the state news agency NNA.

The couple were at a Shariah court in the town of Shheem in Mount Lebanon to complete their divorce proceedings after Rahal filed for separation from her husband, Khalil Masoud, according to media reports.

Masoud fled the scene after shooting his wife at a close range, posting a video on his Facebook account an hour later detailing their financial disputes over a local news website he claimed to have founded.

He also expressed his intent to commit suicide after the video is posted.

Security officers later found his body in his car after he shot himself with a gun in his possession.

“When you watch this video, I will have departed this world,” said Masoud.

He was transported to the government hospital in Sibline but succumbed to his injuries shortly afterward.

The couple are survived by their three children.


Palestinian TV says Israeli strike kills 5 journalists in Gaza

Updated 26 December 2024
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Palestinian TV says Israeli strike kills 5 journalists in Gaza

  • The Committee to Protect Journalists’ Middle East arm said the organization was devastated

GAZA: A Palestinian TV channel affiliated with a militant group said five of its journalists were killed Thursday in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in Gaza, with Israel’s military saying it had targeted a “terrorist cell.”
A missile hit the journalists’ broadcast truck as it was parked in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to a statement from their employer, Al-Quds Today.
It is affiliated with Islamic Jihad, whose militants have fought alongside Hamas in the Gaza Strip and took part in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war.
The channel identified the five staffers as Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan, Ayman Al-Jadi, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed Al-Lada’a.
They were killed “while performing their journalistic and humanitarian duty,” the statement said.
“We affirm our commitment to continue our resistant media message,” it added.
The Israeli military said in its own statement that it had conducted “a precise strike on a vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside in the area of Nuseirat.”
It added that “prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.”
According to witnesses in Nuseirat, a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft hit the broadcast vehicle, which was parked outside Al-Awda Hospital, setting the vehicle on fire and killing those inside.
The Committee to Protect Journalists’ Middle East arm said the organization was “devastated by the reports that five journalists and media workers were killed inside their broadcasting vehicle by an Israeli strike.”
“Journalists are civilians and must always be protected,” it added in a statement on social media.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said last week that more than 190 journalists had been killed and at least 400 injured since the start of the war in Gaza.
It was triggered by the Hamas-led October 7 attack last year, which resulted in 1,208 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 45,361 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.